Monday, February 10, 2014

FL - New details released in Lakeland officer (Julio Pagan) sex case

LAKELAND - New details released Thursday by the 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office provide a closer account of a 2013 sexual assault case involving a Lakeland police officer.

Also provided, surveillance video where the former officer drops the victim off in his patrol car at a nearby convenience store. Back in September, Julio Pagan was charged with two counts of armed sexual battery and one count of stalking.

The victim’s account released Thursday is chilling. She said her calls to law enforcement were ignored, leaving her helpless in a fight against one of their own.

Wearing the symbols of safety and protection, she thought he was someone she could trust. That’s why on July 4th of 2013 Lakeland police officer Julio Pagan was allowed inside the victim’s home.

“Do you ever let strangers in or anything like that? Are you a friendly person?” Assistant State Attorney Brad Copley asked in an interview.

“I’m a friendly person but I don’t normally let strangers in,” the victim responded. “He was an officer so it was a little bit different than a stranger.”

That’s when she said the advances started and a month later he was back, armed and on the job, demanding sex. She said he left her with no choice but to give in.

“He wouldn’t stop asking me for sex for over 30 minutes,” the victim stated. “It was just non-stop.”

Scared and embarrassed, at first she stayed silent.

“I was embarrassed,” the victim said. “I felt like an idiot. And it’s something that should have never happened. And I didn’t want none of this to happen.”

Surveillance video shows the pair together. Officer Pagan takes an already tipsy victim in his patrol car to a nearby store to buy alcohol. He heads out to a call and returns to her house wanting sex. This time she refuses. With no signs of the situation ending, she called authorities for help.

After laughs from a dispatcher and no response to her call, she remained helpless.

“I thought it was over because I’m thinking, ‘Ok, I’ve got a 911 call,’” she stated.

Authorities finally responded in mid-September after the victim told her landlord she wanted to move because this officer would not leave her alone. When the landlord reported it to a police captain, the investigation began.

Pagan has been behind bars since his arrest in September. A hearing is scheduled in March to set a trial date. Pagan could spend the rest of his life in prison.